"Not only did we draft him, but he is someone that has grown up in this organization... and continues to get better and better," Regier said. "We look forward to a continued relationship and development of a very good hockey player at this time in the NHL."

Pominville (11/30/1982, 6', 178 lbs.) finished second on the team in scoring last season, posting career-highs in points (80) and assists (53), along with 27 goals. He was also a team-high plus-16 as he played in all 82 games for the second consecutive season.

A finalist for the NHL's Lady Byng Trophy, Pominville picked up just 20 PIMs while collecting at least a single point in 55 of 82 games. He had three consecutive game point streaks of seven games or more, including a career-high 10-game point streak from Feb. 17-Mar. 5. Pominville finished the season as Buffalo's captain, as he was designated to wear the "C" during the months of March and April.

“I’ve wanted to be here [in Buffalo] since the start. It was just a matter of finding [the right] terms,” Pominville said. “I’ve been around the guys for quite some time now. We’ve grown up together, we’ve had success together and we want to have success together in the future as well.”

Pominville made his international hockey debut last May with the United States at the 2008 World Hockey Championships, finishing with five points (2+3) in seven games.

A native of Repentigny, Quebec, Pominville has 178 points in 222 career NHL games in Buffalo. Pominville made an immediate impact in Buffalo by scoring 18 goals in 57 games after being recalled early in the 2005-06 season. He was a key part of Buffalo's 2006 playoff success, as he scored the series-clinching OT goal over Ottawa in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It marked the first time in NHL history that a playoff series was decided by an overtime shorthanded goal.

“It’s been a good summer,” Regier said. “You have to give ownership a lot of credit. These are tremendous commitments on the part of ownership. These are tremendous commitments on the part of the player. There is a high level of trust that has to be in place on both sides, and that was there.”